Sam

My dog was put down yesterday. I still don't know what happened as my parents didn't write me about it or anything... I'm supposing that they are having a difficult time with it. She was just about the coolest dog to ever roam the earth.

I'm told that she regularly would go running into my room, her favorite toy in her mouth (the remains of a stuffed dog she stole off my bed when she was only a couple months old) and look around every corner expectantly.

I wasn't there.

While I can console myself that I see my family on skype and facebook, I feel absolutely horrid for not being there when she looked for me. Sam always came when I called, even if I needed her to get up from a nap she would do it without so much as a sniff. Here I am, thousands of miles away, unable answer her.

I feel so selfish. I'm not ready to go home yet. But my enjoyment of the things I am learning and the chances I am getting... do those outweigh the experiences I am missing with my family (dogs and cats and horses included)?

I just don't know right now...